Use this page for tips on how to ensure you are sticking to and answering the exam question!

The Three 'A's :)

AVOID

ADVICE
  • Always name the title and author's full name in the introduction (eg. George Orwell's essay, "The Hanging"...)
  • An essay is always quoted and not underlined! (eg. "The Hanging" not The Hanging)
  • Be precise with your word choice
    • Do not say "Orwell presented his subject in a subtle manner" - He was not subtle! What you mean is indirect!
    • So subtle (and vague) should be replaced with indirect
    • Obvious should be replaced with direct
  • A 'story' must always use present tense!
  • Do not waste ink by writing the whole quote down, rather, merely incorporate quote bursts into your essay. A quote burst is taking part of the original quote and fusing it into your essay to sound like a normal sentence, but actually you borrowed words from the author.
    • e.g: Orwell is able to portray his primary purpose of explaining the "unspeakable wrongness" of capital punishment...
    • The "unspeakable wrongness" is actually from Orwell's essay, but you fused it into your own sentence.
  • Always try to write your essay in chronological order
    • If your first example is about the last thing in the essay, how will you go back?
    • e.g: If you start your Orwell essay about the men laughing in the end, how can u suddenly go back to the puddle?
  • ASAP
    • Analyze: a rhetorical device employed by the author
    • Support: with context from the given passage
    • Analyze: how does it effect the audience? how is it useful?
    • Prompt: tie it back to the prompt
  • Sum up the plot so that you do not confuse your reader
    • Even though the examiners know the context of the passage, you should still sum up the context in order to help your example
    • e.g: In Orwell's "The Hanging", if you do not briefly explain that the essay is about a hanging, no one will understand why the puddle is so significant or why the laughter in the end is ironic. Summing up helps back up your examples.
  • In the introduction, if you have two sentences of equal length, make one of them an independent clause and the other a dependent clause in order to add variety to your sentences.
  • Speaker vs. author
    • Clarify between the author and the speaker of the passage. They are not the same people
  • Irony vs. juxtaposition
  • Transitions
- Juhi

ANSWER (the question)